


La douleur exquise

by ProwlingThunder



Series: 100+ Words [16]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alchemical Summoning, Canon Disabled Character, Dimensional Travel, Gen, M/M, Pining, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prosthetics, Soldiers, culture clash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 21:39:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13690329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProwlingThunder/pseuds/ProwlingThunder
Summary: So Ed’s just… a little thirsty.





	La douleur exquise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EgoDominusTuus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EgoDominusTuus/gifts).



> 100+ Words Meme  
> Two and a Number Meme: Edward Elric and someone from Voltron. #13: Misfortune  
> The Writing Room’s 2018 Valentine’s Gift Box #2  
> La douleur exquise (French) - Literal translation: The exquisite pain. Refers to the feeling of loving someone who doesn't return it.

His name was Shiro. He was a soldier of a foreign country, somewhere far away  _ ("I'm part of the Garrison. Or," he hesitated. "I was. Now I'm a Paladin of Voltron.")  _ and he'd been summoned by someone's alchemy gate and Ed had shoved his whole arm in to haul him out, an act which had fused surface plates together, right hand to right hand.

_ ("I can probably get us apart. It's Galra tech, I don't know what it's made of, but I've never seen it  _ not _ cut through everything. I don't know what it will do to your arm though...?" "Do it. I'll get it replaced." Shiro swallowed, looking at where they were connected. Maybe Ed wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't used to calling out superior officers on their bullshit, and that made him feel better about the whole thing.) _

He wasn't an alchemist, but he rapidly ended up a ward of the state by virtue of being a displaced  _ somebody _ from a foreign country and he looked pretty damned snappy in the uniform. He took really well to the particular brand of crazy State Alchemists got up to too.

His arm was a level of alchemy-gone-wild, though. It charged with the same purple glow as the pillar Ed had hauled him out of, and it became pretty apparent that it, like Ed's own arm, was as much an appendage as it was a  _ weapon. _ A weapon he was  _ really _ proficient in, among others.

He trounced seasoned alchemists in practice bouts-- not immediately, no, but on a learning curve that was pretty rapid, recognizing that Gregory was more apt to dissolve the ground beneath him into sand and Wayne drew it up in shields, a pair of alchemists only a little  _ less _ a matched set than Ed and Al. He dove through hazards that would keep him from placing a hypothetical killing blow on his opponents, from ice walls to Mustang's bursts of flame, arm a shield or a blade.

He wore long sleeves and had sleepless nights and he was always watching the stars, and on some level, Ed hated how much they had in common. But he treated Al kindly, answering all sorts of questions: What's Voltron?  _ ("A weapon against the Galra Empire.") _ Who are the Galra?  _ ("I'm not sure you'll believe me, but they're.. well, aliens." "Aliens?" "Yeah. Here, let me draw you a picture-- I'm, I'm not a good artist," he'd said, and then he'd drawn  _ human chimera _ out on the paper.) _ Are there other Paladins?  _ ("Yeah. There's five of us. Me, Keith, Lance, Hunk and Pidge." "What kind of name is Pidge?" "It's a nickname. Shortened from Pidgeon.")  _ Do you like cats?  _ (A soft smile, fond and sad, "Yeah. I pilot one of Voltron's Lions. Black's great." Then, “I miss her.”) _

He was really good, overall, Ed guessed. He answered all Ed's questions too, even the ones he suspected that his superiors would have already told Shiro not to answer.

And when someone stormed the city, Shiro had stood tall, jaw squared, and stared out at the enemy for heartbeats, one, two, three--

And then he'd charged into the fray, using an overturned street-cart hiding a pair of shivering children as a ramp to throw him into the air and come down into the enemy squad. And he'd looked--

Ed had seen Mustang look that way, when things were bad and there was no time to take any kind of fun or pleasure in his own skills, in the thrill of the fight. Sharp and... not vicious, but fiercely determined, face set  _ just so _ with the knowledge that  _ someone _ was not going home that night. When Mustang had to do something he found difficult.

And maybe that was when Ed decided he could get used to having Shiro around permanently. Someone who wouldn't look at scar tissue and turn away. Someone who treated Al like he was still a real person. Maybe that was when he realized that all Al's teasing about Shiro becoming family might have been something else, something more, something real.

Mother's blood, it was certainly when he realized he'd actually  _ liked _ the guy as more than just a friend.


End file.
